Neutral Light, Books

"The world is so vast. I want to go see it."

John murmured Parr's words to himself. The more he thought about them, the better they sounded! Weren't they describing adventurers like him, who wandered everywhere and got to see all the beautiful sights of the world?

"Well said!"

In his excitement, John gave Parr's thin shoulder a hard slap, nearly knocking him flat.

"Little guy, that was well said! We should go out and make our mark, see the grandest sights, defeat the strongest enemies, meet the most beautiful women, and... kill every last cultist!"

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm."

Rubbing his shoulder, Parr nodded repeatedly. He saw nothing wrong with John's last remark. The cultists had left too deep an impression on him. They deserved to die! "Since that's the case..."

John abruptly changed his tone. Squinting, he crouched down and pressed a hand onto Parr's shoulder. A broad smile appeared on his face as he said in the coaxing tone one might use on a child, "Little guy, since you're so ambitious, how about coming out and making your mark with me in a few days? There are lots of fun things out there, lots of delicious food..."

"Huh?"

Parr froze. What was John trying to do? Kidnap a child? This body was only ten years old! Deep in the transmigrator's ingrained beliefs, ten was far too young to go out adventuring. He had planned to lie low in Haystack Village until he became invincible before going out! Just then, Old Man Jack's voice came from nearby. "Parr, he's right! It's time for you to go out and see the world."

"Old Man?"

Parr turned around and discovered that Old Man Jack had awakened at some point. He was lying against the wooden boards, watching them.

As if seeing Parr's confusion, Old Man Jack smiled and explained, "John is an Honorary Knight of the Church. He can be trusted."

"What's an Honorary Knight?"

The Church's full name was the Church of Neutral Light. It had been founded over a thousand years ago by the Radiant Holy Dragon Holy Knight, one of the seven savior Holy Knights. It had existed for over a thousand years and hunted cultists for over a thousand years.

The people of the Church worshipped no gods. They judged all gods to be Evil Gods who endangered the world, and they showed no mercy to cultists who worshipped Evil Gods.

However, the world was vast. After the Great Calamity a thousand years ago, the populations of every race had dwindled, scattering them across the land. The cultists were cunning as well, and it was difficult for the Church alone to oversee everything. Thus, they began seeking outside help.

Any righteous person who killed five Bronze-level cultists could receive the Church's title of Honorary Knight, along with an Honorary Knight Badge that could dispel most low-level negative spells. They could also collect a certain amount of money from the Church each year, and earn bounties from the Church for killing cultists.

None of that was important. What mattered was that the Honorary Knight Badge was equivalent to official identification. It allowed one to move freely through the territories of every noble, making it far more useful than other identities.

"Parr, none of that is the most important thing. What matters is the Talent you displayed tonight."

Lying against the wooden boards, Old Man Jack raised his head slightly and said with a helpless expression, "No matter how much you fight, you never run out of strength. With a Talent like that, you're excellent material for becoming a Knight. You're destined to become an outstanding Knight. Even if you don't leave with John in a few days, once White Deer Baron hears about you, he'll come looking for you. By then, it'll be difficult for you to go out and see the world. It's not that White Deer Baron will lock you up, but there are too many messy matters between nobles. I'm worried that..."

Old Man Jack did not finish. He merely let out a long sigh.

"Is that so?"

It had to be said that Old Man Jack had convinced Parr, who had wanted to lie low here until he became invincible. He turned to look at the rising sun in the east, remained silent for a long time, then finally nodded.

"I understand. I'll go out adventuring with Uncle John. But, Old Man, you..." Parr pointed at the village, which lay in ruins. He could not stop worrying about Old Man Jack. He feared that more cultists might appear. If he was not there when that happened, Haystack Village would truly be finished.

"You don't need to worry about that."

John's next words eased Parr's concerns.

"The identities of those two cultists from last night have already been confirmed. They were cultists from the Azure Stone Viscount Territory to the west. That bald old man was even the mentor of all the local cultists, so I found a list on him recording every cultist in the Azure Stone Viscount Territory. Next, I'll head there and kill them. Your village won't be attacked again."

"If that's the case..."

A relieved smile appeared on Parr's face. Raising his small hand, he shouted, "Count me in!"

This world had never been safe. Villagers sometimes died in the jaws of wild beasts. The dead were dead, while the living still had to go on living. Haystack Village's disaster this time was no different from a major beast attack. Although such a thing had not happened in many years, Haystack Village still had some experience dealing with the aftermath.

After the Church members treated the injuries of Haystack Village's survivors, they rested for half a day before beginning to collect the bodies of the dead villagers.

The villagers who had turned into ordinary Walking Corpses were easier to deal with. At least they had left behind relatively intact bodies. Those unlucky villagers who had not transformed into Walking Corpses before being eaten did not even have complete corpses left. Only pools of foul-smelling black-red blood and a few scraps within them proved that they had once existed in this world.

After the bodies were gathered, the funeral began: cremation.

This was the most common funeral practice among the villagers of this world. Villages were not like towns. No one could guard a graveyard every day to keep beasts from digging up corpses and carrying them away, so cremation had become the most suitable method.

"..."

The dead villagers' bodies were arranged neatly in the clearing before Haystack Village's cemetery, with plenty of dried oilwood beneath them. After their families gave them their final farewells, Old Man Jack, dressed neatly, trembled as he threw the torch in his hand toward them. It was his duty as the chief of Haystack Village.

Whoosh...

The dried oilwood ignited instantly. Thick black smoke billowed out with the flames, blocking everyone's view. When the flames died down and the smoke dispersed, only a little ash remained.

Grief filled the eyes of the surviving villagers as they gathered the ashes of the dead. Without separating one from another, they buried them in a corner at the deepest part of the cemetery. Several gravestones already stood there, left behind from the crises Haystack Village had endured in the past. This time was no different.

After the cremation ended, Parr went alone to Old Man Rottus's house at the southern end of the village. But Old Man Rottus was no longer there, basking in the sun.

Looking at the familiar sights in the courtyard, memories of the past surfaced before Parr's eyes. The transmigrator's soul did not resist them. Instead, it immersed itself in them. As an orphan, he cherished this feeling, because Old Man Rottus had truly treated Parr as his own grandson.

"Old Man, I'll avenge you."

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Parr emerged from his memories. Determination shone in his large black eyes. Then, following Old Man Rottus's final instructions, he walked to the base of the only Xiao Guo tree in the corner of the wall.

Bang! Parr grabbed some tools and started digging furiously. The fruit tree toppled over, and dust flew everywhere. He stepped back two paces and panted a few times. Once the dust settled, he walked to the edge of the hole and looked down. He immediately spotted his target: a rusty iron box, one corner of it exposed from the soil.

"What could this be?"

After more digging, Parr unearthed the iron box and placed it on the ground for inspection.

The iron box was around twenty centimeters long and ten centimeters wide. Beneath the rust on its surface were intricate, beautiful patterns.

"Um..."

Parr stared at it for a long time but could not see anything special about the iron box. The patterns were merely ordinary decorations with no special purpose.

"What could be inside?"

The iron box had no lock, but its seams had rusted shut. Parr pried it open with a hard pull.

"A book?"

What entered Parr's sight was a thick book. Its cover was dark brownish-black and bore no words. The Book Pages were made from the hide of some unknown animal. They were thin and white, almost like paper, and covered in lifelike illustrations.

"Isn't this just a green-feathered chicken?"

On the first page was an animal Parr knew very well: a green-feathered chicken. Beneath the illustration were words in the Wind Wolf Kingdom's language. Parr had learned some from Old Man Jack and could roughly understand their meaning.

"Method for slaughtering green-feathered chickens: First, grab the green-feathered chicken by the neck..."

"What the heck? After all that, it's just a Beast Slaughter Manual!"

Parr flipped through several more pages. The book recorded methods for slaughtering all kinds of beasts. It was not some martial arts manual like he had hoped, which disappointed him. Old Man Rottus had seemed quite formidable before, especially that punch which had nearly shattered Colin's protective barrier. Parr had wanted to learn it.

"Forget it. If it's not a martial arts manual, then it's not. This book can still be considered Old Man Rottus's professional legacy. I probably won't need it in the future, but I can read it in my spare time as an animal encyclopedia for this world."

Shaking his head, Parr tucked the Beast Slaughter Manual into his clothes. He then stood up, replanted the fruit tree he had pulled out, and cleaned up the courtyard and house.

"Old Man, I'm leaving."

After stepping out through the courtyard gate, Parr gave a farewell that was destined to receive no answer, then turned and left.

That night, after casually eating something, Parr sat in the courtyard and stared blankly at the stars in the sky. He wanted to find familiar constellations, but found nothing. Then he looked at the bright moon, only to see a large white sphere emitting a soft glow.

"So this really is another world!"

After sighing, Parr gave up trying. He lowered his head and stared blankly at the ground.

"Status!"

The Status Panel appeared before Parr's eyes.

Name: Parr Tianxing Gender: Male Race: Human Race

Age: 10 (20)

Realm: Elementary Knight Apprentice (0/100)

Stamina: 52/100 Mental Power: 8/10 HP: 100/100 Talent:

Wake Up on Time LV1 Clear Eyesight LV1 Skill: Wind Wolf Basic Breathing Technique LV5 Basic Wind Wolf Swordsmanship LV5 Life Energy Points: 78 Mental Energy Points: 146

Over the course of the day, Parr had discovered that Stamina and Mental Power gradually depleted. That made sense, since people needed to expend energy to move about.

"It's time to improve myself."